


beloved

by belasteals



Series: axgweek 2017 [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Jewish, F/M, Jewish Character, Marriage, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-08 17:39:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11651487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belasteals/pseuds/belasteals
Summary: “Ani l'dodi, v’dodi li.” I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.For axgweek 2017, day two: "Wedding"





	beloved

**Author's Note:**

> The Starks are Jewish.
> 
> Hebrew terms explained in the endnotes.

The Aramaic, unfamiliar to Arya and completely foreign to Gendry, rolls off the rabbi’s tongue like water. She knows what it says in English; they had spent hours hashing out the minor details of the _ketubah,_ the marriage contract, writing and rewriting the promises within until Father was ready to tear his hair out. She fingered the ring on her index finger. It was plain gold, a Stark family ring, and worn with time. “It was meant for Lyanna,” Father had told her, “but I saved it for you.”

The rabbi finished reading the _ketubah_ and the space under the _chuppah_ fell silent. Arya took a deep breath. She had fought for a double-ring ceremony, even if it wasn’t traditional, even if it wasn’t _halakha_. “We’re _partners_ ,” she had insisted, her hand wrapped tightly around Gendry’s as Robb fumed. Robb and Jeyne only had one ring, and Jon and Ygritte had exchanged the second after the ceremony, but they were Orthodox and even if Gendry had converted Orthodox, they lived Conservative and she would give her husband a ring if she wanted to. This one was new, crafted by Gendry and inscribed by Arya, and she read the words inside with trembling Hebrew as she slipped it slowly onto his finger.

“ _Ani l'dodi, v’dodi li._ ” _I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine_.

There’s more, afterwards; wine she barely tastes; seven blessings from Father, Robb, Jon, Bran, Rickon barely a man, Uncle Benjen and Rabbi Luwin; the glass shattering to pieces under Gendry’s foot; _mazel tov_ echoing into the clear night sky. Arya barely remembers any of it. She feels the ring on her finger and Gendry’s rough hands against hers, and as her brothers lift her chair into the sky she thinks she’s flying.

“ _Ani l'dodi, v’dodi li._ ” She’d told Gendry he didn’t have to convert for her, but he had anyway; two years of stumbling over Hebrew at the kitchen table, reciting verses under his breath, walking to _shul_ every Friday because if he was going to do this, he was going to do it right. “It’s important to your family,” he had insisted, even though Jon clapped him on the back and told him that he was already family.

“ _Ani l'dodi, v’dodi li._ ” Hot Pie nearly bowls over a Karstark on his way to congratulate them, even though he hadn’t understood a word of the ceremony that poor Lyanna Mormont hadn’t translated for him under her breath. Mother is somewhere behind her, playing the part of Jewish matriarch she was born for. Ygritte whispers something naughty in her ear, and Arya concerns herself with switching her ring to her left hand to stop from blushing.

Gendry – her _husband_ – doesn’t leave her side.

Ani l’dodi, v’dodi li.

**Author's Note:**

> ketubah: the wedding contract, written in Aramaic and consisting of promises from the groom to the bride. They are typically ornately decorated and displayed in the couple's home.
> 
> chuppah: the wedding canopy, usually ornate cloth over four poles. The bride, groom, and rabbi stand under the chuppah during the ceremony. The chuppah is often outside.
> 
> halakha: Jewish law. Under halakha, only the groom gives the bride a ring.
> 
> mazel tov: congratulations (Hebrew)
> 
> shul: Jewish place of worship, also called a synagogue


End file.
